It wasn害羞草研究所檛 an easy decision to make, but Mayor Colin Basran said something needed to be done.
He said there were two major reasons the city decided on Tuesday morning to relocate Leon Avenue害羞草研究所檚 tent city residents: safety and legal obligation.
害羞草研究所淥ur fire regulations state that the tents needed to be a metre apart, and we know that people who were sleeping in those tents were using things like candles and propane heaters and other things to stay warm and with the numbers increasing, we were basically running out of real estate,害羞草研究所� said Basran.
害羞草研究所淲hat we didn害羞草研究所檛 want to have happen is something catastrophic where we have a fire and significant loss of life.害羞草研究所�
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On Tuesday, the city unilaterally announced it had selected two sites 害羞草研究所� one near Knox Mountain Park and another adjacent to the Kelowna Curling Club 害羞草研究所� for people to set up temporary overnight shelter between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m.
Basran said the city decided to select those sites because indoor shelters are at capacity and the city has a legal obligation to use public areas to offer temporary sheltering.
He emphasized with residents near Knox Mountain, who held a spontaneous protest on Tuesday against the city害羞草研究所檚 decision, however he said regardless of which sites the city selected people would have been upset.
害羞草研究所淚 can tell you that this was not a decision that council took lightly. In fact, it害羞草研究所檚 quite agonizing for council and city staff and everybody involved,害羞草研究所� said Basran.
害羞草研究所淎t the end of the day, there are a number of reasons why the two parks were selected and it doesn害羞草研究所檛 matter where we would害羞草研究所檝e designated public space - those living in proximity to wherever space we chose would be upset.
害羞草研究所淭his is just basically the best of a really bad situation and it害羞草研究所檚 the best option before us in this particular moment in time.害羞草研究所�
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Basran said city staff will continue to work with B.C. Housing and other community partners to find longer term housing, as well as setting up support to connect people with the help they need for mental health and addiction issues.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 evolving every day, but we害羞草研究所檙e pursuing options. The hard part about this is there害羞草研究所檚 not an easy availability of space nor is there an availability of social service agencies able to expand their capacity to be able to operate such an endeavour.害羞草研究所�
According to the city, the new camps will include washrooms, garbage disposal, sharps disposal, bottled water and daytime storage.
Two security personnel will also monitor the sites between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. and there will be an increased presence of both bylaw officers and RCMP officers.
B.C. law requires that in times of insufficient shelter and housing space for those experiencing homelessness, municipalities may not prohibit all of its parks and public spaces from being used for temporary overnight shelter.
twila.amato@blackpress.ca
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